How?
by morph
Summary: The Doctor tries to explain how the TARDIS works... 10Rose. TARDIS POV. Part of my TARDIS 100 series. One Shot.


AN/ Just a bit of random 10/Doctor-ish squee. With a lollipop. TARDIS POV. Betaed by LilCosette. Special thanks to her and eeveekitty85. Enjoy.

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"So… how does it work, Doctor?"

The Doctor looked up at Rose from under the grating in my floor. He was holding the sonic screwdriver in his mouth as he fought to remove some old wiring that he was trying to replace. He struggled for a moment and managed to free a few fingers so he could transfer the sonic screwdriver to them. "How does what work?"

Rose was enjoying a lollipop. She took the stick out of her mouth and licked the lolly once. Twice. "The TARDIS. How does it work? Like, how does it travel through time and all that?"

The Doctor was momentarily distracted by what Rose was going to the lollipop. If I had the ability to, I would have rolled my eyes and given him a smack. As it was, I gave his mind a sharp prod to keep him back on track.

"Oh… um, you wouldn't understand," the Doctor mumbled, trying very hard to focus on his work.

A flash of annoyance went through his companion. "Why? Cos I'm a stupid ape? Come on, Doctor," she challenged. "Does it have to do with this greenish-blue thing? The time scotor?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "It's Time _Rotor_, and yes, it does."

Rose leaned against my console with her hip and put the lolly back into her mouth. She gave the Doctor a coy look. "Go on. How does it work?" she asked him around the stick.

The Doctor sighed and wished Rose didn't have that lollipop. I also saw a rather adult thought flash through his mind about Rose's mouth and his mouth and I scolded him again. The Doctor wriggled out from under the floor and stood up.

"Rose, trust me when I say that it would take me forever to explain to you how the TARDIS works. It would be like trying to explain how the heart cells in a foetus know how to start sending electrical signals to start beating, or how a person can decide whether or not she fancies a bloke. There is an explanation, but not an easy one."

Rose blinked at him then smiled slowly. She chewed the stick and struck a defiant tone of voice. "You don't know how it works, do you?"

The Doctor's jaw tightened. "I do _so_! She's my ship, after all. I know everything about her."

I growled in my engines, disagreeing. He knew a lot about me, true, but I'm a very complex individual. I don't believe for a second that anyone would know _everything_ about me.

"Oh yeah?" Rose raised an eyebrow and ran her tongue over the candy. The Doctor swallowed, but tried to hide it. I noticed it though. He can't hide anything from me. "Then tell me how this ship travels through time. If you know it all, then tell me," Rose pressed.

The Doctor's eyes drifted upwards and he sent me a special request; a distraction. I declined, wanting to see him talk his way out of this. The Doctor sighed.

"It has to do with the heart of the TARDIS. The Time Vortex. You remember that?" He asked, looking into Rose's eyes.

"Yeah…" Rose answered slowly. I touched her mind and gently triggered the memories.

"To put it simply, the TARDIS draws the Time Vortex up and through and uses it like a map. Like you flicking through a huge history book, the most giant history book in all of, history, and picking a page. Pick a date, a time, and a place and bingo! You land and off you go."

I smirked. It was a lot more complicated than that, but he was trying to make it easy for her.

"Oh." Rose was thoughtful. She sucked on the remains of her candy, close to finishing it off.

"Yeah… part of it works kind of something like that, anyway." The Doctor waved a hand dismissively.

Rose rolled her eyes. I could tell she wasn't convinced the Doctor knew how I worked. She chewed on the stick in her mouth. Part of the Doctor was glad she had finished it, but I could see another part of him that was sorry she was. Rose decided to let the issue drop - for now - and was just about to ask the Doctor a question when he beat her to the punch.

"Speaking of times and places and such, where do you want to go next?" As he spoke, he hopped back into the hole in my floor and used the sonic screwdriver to secure the new wires into place. The blue buzz sent a pleasant shiver down my metaphorical spine. The Doctor tossed suggestions into the air for our new destination. "What do you feel like seeing? The prairie castles of Karex? The cloud towers of Mikeinda? Or how about some more Earth history?" The Doctor bounced out of the hole and replaced its covering. Rose smiled in bemusement. "Want to see the lunar landing? Meet old Buzz and Neil?" he asked her, that special, excited gleam in his deep, brown eyes.

"How can you have such energy?" Rose asked as she watched him move to my controls.

"Oh, you should know that by now. Good diet, two hearts, adrenaline, hormones…"

Rose just shook her head and laughed. The Doctor switched the appropriate switches and I took them away to their next adventure.


End file.
